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Fresh Berries Tartelettes

June 8, 2010

I love that my mother stopped asking me about the weather a month ago. My answers were fast turning into "hotter" "sticky crazy humid" "yuck". I could complain about it until the cows come home. I try not to but sometimes it just feels good to vent it out loud. Especially if you're in line somewhere. Then it's instant validation that you're not exaggerating. It really feels sticky as glue out there.

Except today. Today was one of those days you just want to hug. Like Lucy hugs the snow. I wanted to hug today. It looks cuter with a toddler than a 35 year old though. But heck, if Jen is willing to give it a go during the Food And Light Photo workshop this month, maybe we can do a little "Helen hugging the gorgeous Colorado" weather photo shoot. Nah....it still is not as endearing as little Lu.

You could think that now would be the time we only eat ice cream or frozen treats. And we do. Some. Not only and not always. The only things keeping us cool are the shades and a quick dip into the ocean. As far as desserts go, we don't really change our eating habits that much beside more salads instead of cooked vegetables and more sorbets than usual. Honeydew and peach sorbets are currently "curing" in the freezer actually.

With B's college friends visiting these past few days I made sure that we had plenty of food to put on the grill, cold drinks to be mixed and lots of homemade ice cream to dig our spoons into. Turns out, the first thing they asked me to make was some tartelettes. Go figure. They've known my nickname upon ten minutes of meeting me 10 years ago.

We are extremely lucky to have bushes upon bushes of wild blackberries in the neighborhood and I seem to be the only one interested in picking them. One morning, I took my sweet time and picked about three cups worth. We ate some with creme fraiche one morning, they were sweet and juicy but remembering all the scratches I got and spiders I met on my picking expedition, I decided to freeze the precious blackberry loot.

Dear friends call for uncorking the bubbly, busting out the pretty plates and using said precious berries in simple and fragrant tartelettes.

This is pretty much my go-to recipe for fresh fruit tarts. The dough is really easy to come together and is sturdy enough to give just the right amount of crunch. I chose a mix of blackberries and raspberries from the market but you could make these with any fruit that is in season. The trick, what sets them apart, comes from the 20 minutes that the fruit spends marinating in a fragrant herb sugar.

Yep. That's my little secret: I simply rub some sugar with one of the herbs growing in the garden for a minute and let the fruit steep in it. If it's just us, I won't remove the herbs at all but for guests, I'll usually strain the sugar before sprinkling it on the berries. Right now I am on a lemon thyme or lemon balm kick but mint, lemon verbana, chamomille work quite well.

Such a simple thing to do and yet it takes the tarts from good to intriguing. Like adding another layer of goodness. One simple step. I hope you will give it a try and let your imagination or your garden lead you to discover new flavor combinations.

Fresh Berries Tartelettes:

Makes four to six 4-inch tarts

Notes: if you are not baking gluten free, replace the rice, millet, sorghum flours and cornstarch with 1.5 cups of all purpose flour and omit the xanthan gum.

I use this flour combination the most because 1/ these are the least expensive gluten free flours out there and like most of us who bake a lot, I have to pay a close eye on the budget and 2/ because their flavors combined are mild enough that non gluten free folks are not taken aback by the taste or the texture.

If you choose to make one 9-inch tart with this, you might want to double up on the berries and add more sugar to taste.

I used a combination of butter and leaf lard (more info on this here) but feel free to use all butter or half shortening - half butter which keeps the crust nice and flaky. Lard also has less saturated fat than butter.

Prepare the crust:In a mixer, whip the butter on medium speed until light and airy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Mix until incorporated. Add the salt, and all the different flours, and the xantham gum and mix briefly. Add enough milk to moisten it. Dump the whole mixture onto a lightly floured (use more rice flour) board and gather the dough into a smooth ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.Preheat oven to 350F and position a rack in the center.When the dough is nice and cold, roll it out on a lightly floured board or in between two sheets of plastic to fit your prefered pie pan. If the dough tears while you roll or/and transfer into the pan, just patch it with your fingertips. Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dy beans and par bake for 10-15 minutes until almost completely baked. Remove the weights and parchment paper. At this point you can refrigerate the baked crust for up to 3 days before using. Roll some extra dough to form lattice pattern on top if desired. You can also freeze the extra raw dough for up to three months.

For the filling:Place the berries in a non reactive bowl. Rub the sugar and thyme together and sprinkle over the fruit. Gently mix with a spatula. Let the fruit marinate for about 20 minutes.

Assemble: Divide the berries among the tart shells, top with lattice if desired and bake 20 minutes. Let the tarts cool completely before eating. Depending on the water content in the fruits, some may release more juice than others so be aware when you eat...it might drip.

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comments:

Love the pics and from the looks of it, you seem to have enjoyed this one too :)... you make me want to get up and start whipping some tarts even when my eyes are propped open by toothpicks! They looks so delicious, thanks for sharing :)

What beautiful tarts, and thank you so much for sharing both GF and wheat-flour options with us. I have some high-quality lard in my fridge that is begging for a new recipe and I'm pretty sure I've found it.

Love these!! I don't own any mini tart pans, but will have to rectify that soon! I'm amazed you are the only one interested in those wild berries...I wish I could stumble onto some around here. What a blessing that is!!

I used to go blackberry picking with my grandfather growing up. It was a hot job because we had to wear long pants and long sleeves to keep from getting pricked all over, but the oh the reward of those plump blackberries covered in milk and a bit of sugar!!

My husband always *infuse* berries in a mix of sugar and lemon + any interesting herb we might have in hand. And it does makes a huge difference; since he taught me this trick 10 yrs ago, I also do it, comme d'habitude...

Heh, I think you've earned your nickname well. These are gorgeous. I love the idea of herbs--I'm going to use it as soon as we get our berries! I'm so jealous that you have berries already. We don't get ours till July and August.

These look lovely. They are perfect as they are just right for one person to enjoy. I love the idea of fragrant sugar, it must really add to the dish. I would love to have blackberries so close to hand, they are worth all the spider attacks!

These look so gorgeous! I remember those sultry, steamy days and nights when I lived on Sullivan's Island. Even the ocean breeze was hot, sticky and full of salt. Sigh. Still...SUCH a beautiful place to live.

oh my deliciousness!! i love the lattice being echoed in the gingham. what a lovely shot. mmm i feel like some warm berry pie on this cold (sydney) day! do you think this would translate into a larger pie? i dont have small pie dishes

Well now I'm so sad I didn't buy those cute little mini tart pans a few weeks back in Charleston. Yes, I'm with everyone else here...your photos are beautiful. I find myself staring at the photos and forgetting to read the recipes.

very very jealous of your neighborhood berry bushes. we used to be able to get wild blackberries when we lived in Washington, but not down here in San Francisco. There's nothing to compare them with the less-interesting cultivated types.

herbs + sugar sounds like an excellent! have you tried baking with the herb sugar? do you know if it will retain the flavour after reaching high temperatures? i think i'll try incorporating something into the next meringue-based dessert i make. thanks for the awesome idea! :D

I don't have a kitchen for 3 months and it's just killing me! Especially in "berry season" when I'm usually baking tarts non-stop. Someone is however, bringing me a very small oven (that fits on a stool). Hopefully I will be able to resume baking somewhat.